Ferment the Seasons
All that you touch / You Change. / All that you Change / Changes you. / The only lasting truth / Is Change.
Earthseed: The Books of the Living by Lauren Oya Olamina
The styles and methods we practice in fermenting foods and remedies are fundamentally part of the seasonal shifts in our local ecosystem — informed by our eco-cultural lifeways and the traditions of our kith and kin.
Living in the West Coast of Ireland we are graced with an ever shifting landscape of herbs, flowers, and mushrooms — with a bounty of wild yeasts from the karst and Galway Bay sea vegetables fed by the minerals of the Burren.
We are also blessed by a mélange of joy from various florakin cultivated by growers like Annie Nolan, Liam Heneghan, Moy HIll, Beechlawn Organic Farm, and others… including a few bits we steward ourselves.
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AN T-EARRACH (Spring)
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Coming into spring means sharing the last of the fermented autumn, as we celebrate the new growth and the beginnings of a joyous wave of gathering — so many nutrient rich plant medicines, Nettle, Wild Garlic, Ground Elder, Hawthorn, Dandelion, & a new flow of Seaweeds.
Wild Irish Kraut
a traditional German-style sauerkraut with an Irish twist
Seasonally Foraged Greens — Wild Garlic, Ground Elder, Nettle, Dandelion Leaf
This is also cultivation time as we are stewarding young plants, topping up mycelial fruiting chambers, feeding yeasts, and indulging in a colorful array of microgreens — while opening the occasional crock of miso, combining autumn pickles with the joys of spring, and making ever more hot sauce!
We make various seasonal spicy condiments, we call Mighty Hot Sauces, based on Liam Heneghan's Autumn Chili crops & our hand-crafted vinegars — our Goth Sauce which uses Beetroot to give depth & balance to whatever Chilis Liam grows that year (most often Wraith or Reapers).
Aiteach Hot Sauce is a core offering, a recipe we’ve been making & developing for over 20 years
Fermented Carrots, Onions & Apricots bring out just a touch of sweetness from Galway grown Chilis
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AN SAMHRADH (Summer)
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Early crops, sealine foraging, a floral bounty and wild yeasts galore —Pickling is in full swing!
There are so many lovely things to lacto-brine ferment and the flowers are in full bloom, which means a diversity of Wild yeasts.. so its a great time to ferment wild sodas, beer, and vinegars — at the same time we are cultivating Koji for Misos and Tempeh for summer gatherings.
There are no hard timelines in the queer world we live in… some things come to us a bit earlier, some a bit later each year – in addition to dancing with the shifting Summer flora, this is a time we focus on learning, growing, sharing knowledge and cultivating our systems of support.
Hence, summer is the time we do most of our workshops and skills shares — at community groups, schools, festivals, small businesses and social enterprises like Common Knowledge.
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AN FÓMHAIR (Autumn)
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This is when we preserve the harvest — continuing to be in conversation with community as we continue gathering, cultivating… it’s peak fermentation season!
Beyond the need to preserve the harvests, its also a period of experimentation and play!
Ferment those fruits or add them to things you make all year. Get those chilis into everything. Make some miso from all that squash. Gather mushrooms!
It’s a truly joyous working, share it if you can.
Burren Kymchi
We brought our decades long love affair with Korean spice to the Burren — using Galway Bay foraged Seaweeds to create umami rich, vegan friendly, fermented Irish Vegetable goodness — Kimchi-style!
The types of vegetables we use for our Kymchis cycle with us; Radish, Swede, Carrot, Celeriac, or Kohlrabi make appearances throughout the year and the variety of cabbage seems ever changing – all depending on what Annie is harvesting and what sea and land joy we can forage.
We do love our chili
We infuse Irish Rapeseed Oil with Star Anise, Sichuan Pepper, Cardamon, & other tasty bits to a blend of Dried Chili Flakes & Korean Gochugaru
We then boost the mix with Dehydrated Kymchi Powder & Lacto-brine Pickled Garlic
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AN GEIMHREADH (Winter)
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In addition to having all that microbe filled bounty doing their slow groove in crock and jars, there are still seaweeds to engage with, and some fungi about… including the mycelium we cultivate through tempeh, miso and our wee fruiting chambers.
This time of year we like to gather together with our forged family and friends – its a time of communal meals, spiritual fermentation, and planning for the coming moons.
Winter is a time to ferment ourselves, for study and deeper transformations, as we queer our guts for spring.
